After Hicks and I
bonded over Halifax, she chatted with ATC for an interview.
Q: When did you
start drawing and when did you realize you had a knack for it?
A: Ah, the old talent
question. Honestly, I don't believe I'm talented. I don't think I have a knack
for drawing. Drawing is really really hard for me, and I don't know why I
decided at a fairly late age (late teens) to pick it up and start making comics.
What you see in my artwork is the result of years and years of very dedicated
work, hours spent drawing thousands of comic pages. I tend to think that people
who are naturally skilled at drawing don't have to spend that long developing
their craft. They start out good and develop into something great. I started out
crappy and developed into something decent. But as for when I began comics, I
put my very first online comic page on the internet in 1999, so that's a good
starting point.
Q: How did you
get interested in animation? What were these online comics that you worked
on?
A: I really enjoyed
the movies Disney released in the 90s: "Beauty and the Beast", "Mulan",
"Tarzan", and wanted to be a part of that. Later I learned I was much happier
working on my own stories rather than someone else's. As for comics, I started
drawing my own online comic "Demonology 101" in school.
Q: What was
"Demonology 101"? Did you just do that for kicks? Did you get any attention from
it or was it just a way for you to hone your craft?
A: "Demonology 101"
was a comic that I did from 1999 to 2004. When I finished it, it was over 700
pages long. I started it because I was very drawn to comics as an art form, but
there were few comics I wanted to read, and fewer that had characters
(especially female characters) that I enjoyed. So I decided to fill that gap. I
pretty much taught myself how to draw. Comics are a great crash course in
drawing. They force you to learn fast.
I had a few thousand
followers. I didn't get internet famous from doing the comic, but enough people
read it that I felt it was worthwhile.
Q: Is Sheridan
College well known for its animation program? Were there any graduates whose
work you followed? Did you get a BA from Sheridan or was this a specialized
program that you went into after toiling in the animation world for a while
after high school?
A: When I was at
Sheridan (I graduated in 2004) it was a 3 year college diploma program. I was
one of the final years to take the 3 year program, and now it's changed over to
a 4 year Bachelors. In between high school and Sheridan I spent a few years in
University working on an English/Art degree before deciding I wanted to do
animation. I wasn't familiar with many Sheridan graduates, but knew it had a
reputation for churning out excellent artists.
Q: What's Copernicus
Studios and what did you do for them?
A: Copernicus is an
animation studio in Halifax that deals primarily with Flash animation. I worked
for them from 2005-2008 doing a bunch of different animation-related
jobs.
Q: Can you explain
the difference between drawing and animation?
A: The main
difference is that when you animate, you are making a drawing literally move, as
opposed to indicating movement with a single static image, as in comics.
Animation requires 12 to 24 drawings a second. So if you draw someone punching
another person in the face, you do thousands of drawings to get that movement
right. I don't enjoy animating. I can do it if I try, but it's not where my
passion lies. In comics, it's one drawing. I just don't have the patience to
animate. I like the impact of a single drawing.
Q: Are there any
illustrators and/or comic book artists whose work inspires you and/or that you
admire?
A: I am deeply in
love with the work of Naoki Urasawa, a Japanese manga artist. His comics (he
currently has three series published in English: "Monster", "Pluto" and "20th
Century Boys") opened my eyes to the possibilities of serialized, long form
storytelling, and using your characters as actors. I really love his work. I'm
also mad for American cartoonists like Jeff Smith ("Bone"), Nate Powell, and Jim
Rugg. I have a whole huge list of artists, but those are usually my top
guys.
Q: How did you hook
up with the "Brain Camp" people? Did you ever meet the authors and if not, was
that strange or is that typical?
A: First Second
Books, publisher of "Brain Camp", contacted me over the internet about trying
out for a script they'd bought, then titled "The Fielding Course". I drew up
some pages from the script and got the job. Goes to show, you never know who's
looking at your website. I haven't yet had a chance to meet Susan and Laurence,
though I hope to in the fall [at ComicCon]. I don't know if the experience was
strange or typical, as it was my first time drawing a comic book script that
wasn't my own... the script was done by the time I started drawing, so it was
just a matter of following Susan and Laurence's instructions.
Q: How long did you
work on the project?
A: It took me about 5
1/2 months to draw "Brain Camp".
Q: What's the
animation scene in Canada like right now, and specifically in Nova Scotia since
you've been working freelance? Are you doing comic books for American
publishers, Canadian or both?
A: The animation
scene in Nova Scotia used to be a vibrant, wonderful community, but the
recession hit it hard, and pretty much all the studios have closed down. Most of
my friends have left for greener pastures in Ottawa or Toronto. It's very sad. I
keep hoping some big project will come through and there'll finally be work for
everyone, but it hasn't happened yet. I was very lucky to get out when I did. I
draw for whomever I can get work with. Mostly my comics have been for American
publishers, First Second and SLG Publishing, but I've done small freelance stuff
for local publishers/newspapers here in Nova Scotia.
Q: What are you
working on now with "Brain Camp" behind you?
A: I just finished
writing and drawing my next graphic novel, "Friends With Boys", which will be
published by First Second. It's about a girl entering her first year of high
school after being homeschooled. I'm an ex-homeschooled kid, so it's a little
bit autobiographical, although not really.
Q: What would be your
dream project?
A: Honestly, having
the financial means to write and draw my very own graphic novel fulltime -
"Friends With Boys" - was my dream project. Now I just hope I can follow it up
with another graphic novel. It's really a dream come true.
Q: What do you
like to do in Halifax when you're not working?
A: Sleep! That's
pretty much my life. Sleeping and working. But in the off chance I do have a
couple minutes to myself, I like going out sketching with friends, or just
seeing people. It can be isolating working at home on comics for 12 hours a day,
six days a week, which is what I've been doing since January. So when I can, I
try and escape the drawing desk and go outside.
Q: Is illustration
what you hope to be doing in five or ten years?
A: I hope I'll be
drawing comics until I'm 90.
"Brain Camp" by Susan
Kim and Laurence Klavan, is available now from First Second.
Check out the
trailer here:
Brain Camp -
trailer
www.youtube.com
Find
it in your local bookstore or online:
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